shovel
an implement consisting of a broad blade or scoop attached to a long handle, used for taking up, removing, or throwing loose matter, as earth, snow, or coal.
any fairly large contrivance or machine with a broad blade or scoop for taking up or removing loose matter: a steam shovel.
a shovelful.
Informal. shovel hat.
to take up and cast or remove with a shovel: to shovel coal.
to gather up in large quantity roughly or carelessly with or as if with a shovel: He shoveled food into his mouth.
to dig or clear with or as if with a shovel: to shovel a path through the snow.
to work with a shovel.
Origin of shovel
1Other words from shovel
- un·shov·eled, adjective
- un·shov·elled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use shovel in a sentence
Make sure you have the gear—an avalanche beacon, a shovel, a probe—and know how to use it.
How the Pandemic Has Changed Backcountry Safety | Christopher Solomon | November 27, 2020 | Outside OnlineBuy now I keep this small folding shovel in my truck at all times, but it’s especially reassuring to have it during the colder months in case I need to dig myself or someone else out of a snow bank.
The Delta collapses to not much more than the size of its blade yet expands into a shovel that’s just as robust as the nonpackable alternative.
Pounding the packed sand with a foot or flat part of a shovel can agitate a buried clam, causing it to make a dimple at the surface.
14 wild edibles you can pull right out of the ocean | By Bob McNally/Field & Stream | October 19, 2020 | Popular-ScienceThis portable tactical shovel can extend from 15 inches to 26 inches, and the entire tool breaks down for easy storage in an includes waist pack.
But she shoveled these fragments of coal into her engine, and hotter she burned.
Maya Angelou Knew How To Inspire As A Writer, Teacher, and Great Human Being | Joshua DuBois | May 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWorkers on the iron horse shoveled coal into a boiler, which propelled the engine and sent steam and smoke billowing into the sky.
He remembers a girl who was “so sweet” that she even shoveled his walk one day when his back hurt.
The scene is apocalyptic: bodies, by the thousands, being unceremoniously shoveled into mass graves.
Leon and Butch shoveled some dirt onto the coffin, then thanked the men for their assistance.
No smoke came from the slanting chimneys; no avenues were shoveled to the doorways; the drifts were unbroken.
The White Desert | Courtney Ryley CooperNot a man in that hot, fiery pit shoveled more coal on that watch, or shoveled it to better advantage than did the Iron Boys.
The Iron Boys on the Ore Boats | James R. MearsWalks were not shoveled, blinds had been drawn, and no tire tracks led to and from the three-car garage.
Ghost Beyond the Gate | Mildred A. WirtWe shoveled out a deep hole in the gravel, so that it would fill up with water.
Tales of lonely trails | Zane GreyA thousand men had shoveled as they never shoveled before, and not a British sentry had heard the click of their spades.
The Story of American History | Albert F. Blaisdell
British Dictionary definitions for shovel
/ (ˈʃʌvəl) /
an instrument for lifting or scooping loose material, such as earth, coal, etc, consisting of a curved blade or a scoop attached to a handle
any machine or part resembling a shovel in action
Also called: shovelful the amount that can be contained in a shovel
short for shovel hat
to lift (earth, etc) with a shovel
(tr) to clear or dig (a path) with or as if with a shovel
(tr) to gather, load, or unload in a hurried or careless way: he shovelled the food into his mouth and rushed away
Origin of shovel
1Derived forms of shovel
- shoveller or US shoveler, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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